Trudeau to remain Prime Minister indefinitely to facilitate transition
Trudeau says he expects a quick transition, once his successor is chosen on March 9. “It should happen reasonably quickly, but there's a lot of things to do,” he said, referring to the U.S. trade war.
With only days remaining in Justin Trudeau’s tenure as prime minister, he clarified his last day in office remains unknown.
“As we know, the Liberal Party is going to be picking a new leader over the weekend, but when is it going to be your last official day as Prime Minister?” a reporter asked on Tuesday.
“That will be up to a conversation between the new leader and myself to figure out how long a transition is needed,” Trudeau replied.
The Prime Minister prorogued Parliament on January 6, announcing his intention to resign following a failed last-ditch effort to secure a minority government.
Trudeau says it's not clear when his last day as Canada's prime minister will be and it will depend on a conversation between him and the Liberal Party's leadership winner. pic.twitter.com/jWHsIK1QuT
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) March 4, 2025
Responding to questions about U.S. tariffs, Trudeau acknowledged that a conversation on his exit needs to take place with his successor.
Voting is underway in the Liberal leadership race and registered Liberals have until March 9 at 3 p.m. EST to cast their votes.
The Liberal Party of Canada will announce its new leader in Ottawa that day.
In the race are former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, former government House leader Karina Gould and former Liberal MP and Quebec businessman Frank Baylis.
MP Gould earlier said the U.S. trade war could delay the federal election. U.S. President Donald Trump implemented 25% tariffs Tuesday following two delays in as many months.
Trudeau says he expects a quick transition. “It should happen reasonably quickly, but there's a lot of things to do,” he said, referring to the U.S. trade war.
PM candidate hints Liberals could suspend election over Trump’s trade war
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) February 18, 2025
Liberal MP Karina Gould says Ottawa could delay the next election if a U.S. trade war comes to fruition. “That might be a reason not to go to the polls,” she told reporters.https://t.co/8ppMOL9VPd
Section 4 of the Charter stipulates that Parliament may be extended beyond the five year maximum in the event of a “war, invasion or insurrection.”
“I think we need to see where we are on March 9,” said Gould.
Under the Canada Election Act, the next scheduled election is slated for October 20, 2025. Both Gould and Mark Carney discussed the possibility of a spring snap election but made no promises.
“There would have to be an agreement with the opposition parties if we were to do that,” said Gould, “but I think whatever decision we take has to be one that is responsible for Canadians.”
“If Parliament needs to be recalled for certain reasons, it will be,” confirmed Carney.
Prorogation ends on March 24, followed by a likely confidence vote two days later.
Alex Dhaliwal
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Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.
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COMMENTS
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Bernhard Jatzezck commented 2025-03-04 20:41:09 -0500So, if Hollywood were to re-make the Robert Altman film “The Long Goodbye”, they could use Trudeau’s phony resignation as the theme. -
Susan Ashbrook commented 2025-03-04 19:17:37 -0500The never ending story! We need recall legislation.
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Bruce Atchison commented 2025-03-04 19:16:43 -0500I agree with The Pleb. Trump gave the Liberals a boon in the form of a trade war. They’ll use it to rag the election puck as long as they can. After all, they haven’t finished destroying Canada yet.
